Inspiration versus Incentive

I've been thinking a lot about these 2 things. Basically, the burning question I have is which one produces the better product.
I suppose better is the operative word.

I think I am finally understanding the meaning of Infusion and I think personal value plays a significant piece to this. When I think of fusing, I think of becoming connecting to the point that 2 separate pieces become one, cannot be broken and become something different.

I also think that inspiration is the key to bringing that value, not "doing project-based learning" or the likes although these hold great instructional value to the process. I have found that incentives, while nice, do not lead to infusion or higher. But again, incentive is sometimes the motivation needed to kick-start the process - and as a fellow colleague of mine once said, it takes strategic conniving (but conniving in a constructive, nurturing way) in the part of staff development facilitator to bring out this creative thinking.

It's the point of no return. It's the point where the teacher could never go back. It's the point where s/he has contributed to the learning in such a way that makes them personally involved, or infused.

What if we tapped into what inspires each teacher and find a way to bring that value into the classroom or to students?

adding value

I was going through the Top 25 Apps on my iPhone just to see what was out there and I found the app by CNN. The cool thing about this app is that anyone can register and submit a story. So here's the deal. I was eating supper with my daughter at this wing place and glanced at a news story that read - How to Fix Education. I told my daughter and then my friend who is also a colleague of mine that one day, we'd be on CNN with the real scoop on education.

The plan? To submit our stories along the way until we get notice by CNN : ) We will see what happens.

But wait - there's more! I am reading the news and come across a story called San Diego Zoo is Connecting People to Conservation submitted by Chris Morrow. Now this is what I call adding value. There's tons of these examples in the world, so why isn't it happening in schools enough?I think it could be and what's significant about it is that it adds value and it is based on something that is important to someone - and therefore builds connections between people.

What is the trick for tapping into this passion so that learning adds value?